Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Leaked

With a Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 Lollipop release confirmed and new details arriving by the day, many users are growing impatient as they wait for the latest software to arrive. And while it hasn’t started rolling out quite yet, this week an early version of the Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 Lollipop update has leaked to the public.

In April of 2013, Samsung released its Galaxy S4 after a big debut in New York City back in February. The Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived with a number of big time features including Android 4.2 Jelly Bean which, at the time, was Google’s most current version of the Android operating system. Since then it’s received countless updates and is now on Android 4.4 KitKat, but Android 5.0 Lollipop is coming soon.

Samsung usually keeps devices updated for at least two years so it wasn’t surprising to learn that Android 5.0 Lollipop is next for the Galaxy S4, and today we have good news. A recent final version of the Galaxy S4 software update has leaked, and while it isn’t ready for prime time just yet, read on for more details regarding the Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

We’ve been keeping a watchful eye on any and all things Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 updates, and here’s 10 things users should know about. And while we’re still waiting for it to arrive for international users, and more importantly in the United States, at least one variant of the update has surfaced today for those interested.

Today over at the popular XDA Developers forum an official update of Android 5.0.1 Lollipop for the Galaxy S4 has leaked, but sadly this is only for the international version, and not any specific carrier in the United States. To be exact, this is for the unlocked international Samsung Galaxy S4, model i9500. Meaning this likely won’t work for the Galaxy S4 on Verizon, AT&T, or any other carrier versions here in the United States.

The image above shows a few screenshots from the leaked software confirming Android 5.0.1 Lollipop, and giving us a quick glance at the TouchWiz version of Android Lollipop we can expect from Samsung. We’ve already seen the Galaxy S5 update on video, so there isn’t anything too new here. It does show a built date of January 15th, so this could be the latest version of the update currently in testing.

This is a leak of the official update for the Galaxy S4, but can’t just be flashed as a simple software update by regular users. What this means is that this is a more technical procedure that regular users won’t want to do, as they may cause problems or ruin their smartphone. We’d advise most to simply wait for the official update, but this can be flashed using the standard flashing methods with ODIN right over the current official build available for the i9500.

According to XDA Developers this is a non-final version of the Galaxy S4 Android 5.0 Lollipop update, and it may not be complete. This means there could still be some problems, bugs, or instability, and this is only for testing or those daring enough to try it early. Again, this isn’t for regular users, so we’d advise most users to wait for the official update to surface.

The latest reports and leaks suggest Samsung could start pushing Android 5.0 Lollipop to the Galaxy S5 and Note 4 as soon as this month in the United States, then proceed to update the Galaxy S4. Meaning the official stable update could be weeks away, and it’s worth waiting for that, vs flashing this leaked build. If you have a carrier Galaxy S4, stay tuned, as we’ll update once we know more.